Israel attacked Iran on Friday evening in what it said was retaliation for Iran’s ballistic missile attack on the Jewish state earlier this month as well as a response to “months of continuous attacks from the regime in Iran against the state of Israel.
A senior U.S. official described the attack as “extensive but precise.” Iran said three sites were hit and that “limited damage” was caused.
According to an AP analysis of satellite photos, Israel damaged facilities at a secretive military base southeast of the Iranian capital that experts in the past have linked to Tehran’s onetime nuclear weapons program and at another base tied to its ballistic missile program.
Some of the buildings damaged sat in Iran’s Parchin military base, where the International Atomic Energy Agency suspects Iran in the past conducted tests of high explosives that could trigger a nuclear weapon. Iran long has insisted its nuclear program is peaceful, though the IAEA, Western intelligence agencies and others say Tehran had an active weapons program up until 2003.
The other damage could be seen at the nearby Khojir military base, which analysts believe hides an underground tunnel system and missile production sites.
The Israeli military said on Saturday morning it hit missile manufacturing sites and aerial defenses in several areas and had completed its “targeted” air attacks, and that its planes had safely returned home. Israel’s public broadcaster said three waves of strikes had been completed. The Israeli military said after its airstrikes: “If the regime in Iran were to make the mistake of beginning a new round of escalation, we will be obligated to respond.”
Two soldiers were killed in Saturday morning’s Israeli airstrikes on Iran, the official Iranian news agency IRNA reported.
The UK and US have warned against further escalation, while nations including Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan have all condemned the attacks.
Speaking at the official memorial ceremony for IDF fallen soldiers in the current war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel’s recent strike in Iran has severely impacted “Iran’s defensive capabilities and its ability to develop missiles.”
Netanyahu described the strike as “precise and powerful, achieving all of its objectives.”
Israel’s attack comes in response to several serious incidents that took place this month.
The Lebanese armed group Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a drone attack last week on Netanyahu’s holiday residence in Caesarea in northern Israel.
“The Islamic Resistance claims responsibility for the Caesarea operation and targeting Netanyahu’s home,” the head of Hezbollah’s media office, Mohammad Afif, said at a news conference on Tuesday.
Israel blames Iran for supporting Hezbollah and holds the regime responsible for any actions committed by Hezbollah.
Iran launched almost 200 ballistic missiles towards Israel on Oct. 1.
The Israeli military said most of the missiles were intercepted, but that a small number struck central and southern Israel. The only person reported to have been killed was a Palestinian man in the West Bank.
It was Iran’s second such attack on Israel this year, after it launched about 300 missiles and drones in April.
Iran’s supreme leader said Sunday that Israel’s attack on Iran this weekend “should not be exaggerated nor downplayed,” though he stopped short of calling for retaliation.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s remarks are the latest suggesting Iran is carefully weighing its response to the attack.
Already, Iran’s military has said a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip or Lebanon trumps any retaliatory attack on Israel, though Iranian officials also have said they reserve the right to respond.
“The evil actions of the Israeli regime two nights ago should neither be exaggerated nor downplayed,” Khamenei said. “The miscalculations of the Israeli regime must be disrupted. It is essential to make them understand the strength, will, and initiative of the Iranian nation and its youth.”
He added: “It is up to the authorities to determine how to convey the power and will of the Iranian people to the Israeli regime and to take actions that serve the interests of this nation and country.”
A senior U.S. administration official said following Israel’s attack that “This should be the end of the direct military exchange between Israel and Iran … As far as we’re concerned, that should close out that exchange between Israel and Iran. The broader conflicts in the region, obviously, [are] much more complex.”
Israel’s covert and overt war with Iran suffered a setback earlier this week when U.S. documents detailing plans for a potential strike on Iran were leaked.
Following the leak, one name quickly emerged in Israeli intelligence circles: Ariane Tabatabai.
Israeli intelligence insiders said that the Iranian-born Pentagon official had previously been linked to an alleged covert influence campaign led by Tehran, a revelation that surfaced in October 2023. Some Republicans have even labeled her a spy.
Despite these accusations, Tabatabai remains employed by U.S. intelligence, which has categorically denied any involvement on her part in the leak.
Israeli sources remain skeptical of these denials by U.S. officials.
What is clear from Israel’s attack on Iran is that it successfully positioned dozens of aircraft close enough to Iran to launch multiple waves of precision strikes on key military targets.
Despite knowing for weeks that an attack was imminent—and potentially even receiving indirect hints from Israel about the timing—Iran was unable to prevent the Israeli jets from executing their mission with precision and efficiency.
Now, Iran and its critical gas and nuclear facilities are more exposed than ever. The regime’s most advanced air-defense systems were neutralized, and replacing them, even with help from Russia, will take time—if Moscow is even willing or able to supply replacements.
Iran’s air defenses, already ineffective during the Saturday strike, are now even weaker, with many batteries and radars destroyed.
Alongside this blow to its air defense infrastructure—into which Iran has invested heavily—the Islamic Republic has also lost a significant deterrent against Israel.
After weeks of intense attacks on Hezbollah leaders and Israeli ground forces operating in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah can only manage a few hundred rocket launches into Israel daily. This diminished capability has left it unable to influence Israeli decision-making regarding further strikes on Iran.
Meanwhile, with Hezbollah’s longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah killed and Israel carrying out direct strikes on Iranian targets, daily life in most of Israel remains largely unaffected.
All eyes will now be fixed on Iran as it weighs its next move. The international community has warned it to back down and avoid a regional escalation.